Cable Cars and the Streets of San Francisco

I thought San Francisco was really cool. Tons of atmosphere and cool architecture. It's a big city but to me it had the charm of "neighborhoods" with grocery stores, shops, and restaurants on many of the street corners. Those cool houses were mixed into areas with modern buildings. It was a place I'd like to spend a few days in.

Check out the cool architecture on this building.

Parking looks to be at a premium here.

Hyde Street...think Hyde Park and the "sex, drugs, and rocknroll" era of the 60's.

Taken from a moving car, but I think you get the idea of the hills.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday on Saturday.

Have one on us!

The Golden Gate Bridge

As we drove toward the bridge, it was very foggy.

I didn't think I'd get any good pictures of the it.

Driving over the bridge.

As you can see, it was crystal clear on this
side of the bridge so my photos were fine.

Love this shot of 1/2 the bridge in the fog.

Beautiful me by the beautiful bridge.

It (we) really is a marvel.

How to Properly Use Your Scale

And to think, I've been doing it wrong all this time!

Wayne's World-Excellent-Party On Dude!

Today, during "spirit" week for homecoming, it was 80's day. The prince got up extra early so we could use 1/2 a bottle of gel, hairspray, and hair glue (I LOVE hair glue--it's the coolest thing) to get his hair to do this! Party on, Dude!

Nice Girls Can Finish First!

Congratulations to Jordan, last night's winner of Big Brother 11! She and Jeff proved that you can be "nice" and still win! She won the 1/2 million dollars, and he won $25,000 as America's favorite player. Why? Because he's nice! And cute! Yippee! I loved this season!

Homecoming Madness!

It's suppose to be 87* on Friday for the Homecoming Game! We'll forgo the parade and whatnot, though the prince will be enjoying all the festivities (Today is "western" day, and I'm not sure what he'll be wearing, but he's already talking about how much hairspray it'll take to glam up his hair for 80's day tomorrow. Perfect since he's all into 80's rock!) but plan to take in the game in the evening.

I sound just like a high schooler, don't I? It's like I'm right back there, except I don't have an algebra test tomorrow and I'm not struggling with Spanish I! It's the best of both worlds for me.

The prince did meet with his counselor yesterday and found out that even though he's college-bound he doesn't HAVE to have 2 years of a foreign language. It can be replaced by 2 years of computers or visual/performing arts! Phew! He's already taking a computer class so will probably keep heading in that direction though if I were him, I'd take the easy A in choir for two years. The boy CAN sing!

Faithful readers of my blog--I know there are about 10 of you out there--might also sometimes read blogs (I call it blog-stalking) on my blog list. That's okay. That's why it's there. My friend, MB, posted a story about a run-in while driving that she had with a spider recently. Yikes! I had no similar story to tell, but I provide the link in case you want to be amused (I hope that's okay with her...I didn't ask her first. She's one of those faithful readers so I'm sure I'll hear from her if it isn't.)

http://thefouros.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html

Now, having read her story, I must tell you about Jeanette--since I'm posting photos from my trip to see her and all. Prior to my coming to see her, she was working in her mom's backyard and came upon a couple of nests of bees who were not happy to share the back yard with her. She worked really hard to get rid of them--several cans of bee spray were required--but she had the back yard all ready when I arrived with nary a bee to be found. Occasionally she would find a bee or two in the general vicinity, and she was pretty sure they were stalking her, but she had no proof.

On the day that I was leaving for the airport, one of those vengeful bees found her, while she was driving me to the airport!! The rest is her story (she's a much better writer than I am, and I did get permission from her before posting it--sorry MB!!)

I just returned from a most traumatic trip to the San Jose airport. Without incident I managed to pick up my friend at her hotel for a quick breakfast before her flight home. Within moments of hitting the road though an evil creature flew into my car!! Yes, it's true! A wasp/hornet sentry finally tracked me down a few miles from the house where I sprayed the nests and wiped out the work crew. I give 'em credit for perseverance....I did not, however, grant an extension on its life! My noble friend whipped out her wallet and started beating me with it in an effort to kill the creature. Now mind you I'm STILL driving during all of this. As each light turned green I'd have to stop her as she was leaned across my lap trying to smack it to death. Once we thought she got it, but it was only playing dead! In fact, it stung me after the first fake death. Thus, my noble friend beat me again with her coin-heavy wallet.... and finally the creature stopped twitching. That is life in CA. Of course, I could have told you that in addition to the 5am wake-up calls on Fri/Sat for the yard sale we also had fun exploring Monterey, San Francisco, Pacifica, and Davenport....but anybody could travel around CA...not everyone gets hunted down at 40mph by a flying sentry and lives to tell the story!

Monteray Bay, CA

Our plan was to go on a whale-watching tour, but as we pulled into the parking lot, Jeanette got a call saying the tour was cancelled due to rough seas. We took a bay tour instead. Not quite as cool, but it served it's purpose to get us out on the water and to see some "sea life".

My partners in crime and good friends

Jeanette and Commando Potter.

(Yes, there's a story there, but I'm not sharing.)

Sea Lions and birds...they cohabitate. All the sea lions and otters you'll see (I can't tell the difference but Jeanette can and will be very disappointed that I couldn't) in these photos are males under the age of 5. The females stay further south where it's warmer as they have less body fat. The adult males are currently down south since it's mating season. What you are seeing are the young males, and from what I could tell, it's like one big frat party. They are loud, stinky, and lay around a lot!

This area used to be cannery row, where sardine canning was the main-stay of the economy here in the early days. Today it's all about the tourist dollars and many of these canneries are being turned into shops, restaurants, and condos.

Otter in the water.

You can also see lots of sea kelp--which we got to hold.

Slimy and rubbery and great for your skin.

The Bay

Skyview beats Senior

What's a mom to do when she and her husband graduated from Senior, but the children go to Skyview? Well, duh...you root for Skyview! It is easy to root for Skyview any other night, but last night they played Senior. Still, I must admit I'm a little giddy at the win! Those boys played some good ball. And the quarterback is only a junior! Go Skyview!!

http://www.billingsgazette.com/app/videos/?id=6115122

Recent Trip To California

I was lucky enough to get to go to CA last week to visit my friend, Jeanette, meet up with our friend, Laura, and pull off a two-day garage sale for Jeanette. Jeanette will tell you she worked us hard, but in truth it was a laughter-filled week that I would repeat in a heartbeat. When not working HARD, Jeanette was a great tour guide. I love northern California. Who knew? The best of everything...beaches and mountains. I'll post more pictures in the coming days, but this will get the anticipation building.

Gilroy, CA is the garlic capitol of the world.

You can smell the garlic as you drive down the interstate.

Garlic Field

Sand dunes near Monteray, CA.


A cool hang-glider taking off.

There he goes!

The pier at Monteray, CA.

Sea lions--they blend in with the pier,

but can you see them on the left side of the pier?

Not to worry, I'll post better photos later.

These guys were very noisy and,

dare I say it, quite stinky!

Cute shops at the pier and a cool clock.

That white blob is a jelly fish.

I've gotta get a better camera!

Happy Belated...

Happy belated birthday to my little bro yesterday! Here's wishing you another year of happiness. And yep, I used the "ghost" photo! I couldn't resist. (Insert theme to Twilight Zone here.)

While I was away...

Cool nephew Tyson had a birthday...hope it was great! Nope, that's not me with him, though I can see how you would get me and my sister confused!

Swine Flu in the Extreme

I stole this off of someone's blog, but it was just too cute not to!

Hurricane Jimena

So I'm headed to California early tomorrow morning. Yep, California--the state that is waiting for Hurricane Jimena to land! Luckily, I'm headed to Northern California, and it looks like Southern California will get the bulk of what's left of the weakening system. Still, I'm suppose to go whale watching one of the days that I'm there, and I don't know how hurricanes affect whales, whale habits, and the ocean waves!!! I'll keep you posted.

Least you think this is purely a pleasure trip, as the king does, I assure you I will be working hard to help my friend go through her mother's estate and do a big HONKIN' garage sale. My "reward" for that hard work was going to be a whale-watching trip. Now my reward might have to be extra margaritas!

"He's wearing my scarf!"

One of the 8th grade girls came to class with a scarf around her neck. One of the boys asked to borrow it and wore it for a few minutes. One of the other boys said, "You must be gay if you're wearing that." I replied, "Cross-dressers are not necessarily homosexuals." This opened the door for a bunch of questions I was NOT going to answer. I'm going to have to learn to bite my tongue a LOT in this new job!

Go Falcons!

The prince attended his first high school football game. Although they didn't win, it was a good game and he enjoyed himself. We'll get them next time!

Go Falcons!

Middle School!

This is what a middle schooler looks like--complete with middle school sneer. Notice she too is wearing her new Chucks--they're purple. She's also wearing her skinny jeans. I HATE skinny jeans, but it was really hard to find anything else this year. She's lovin' them. She'll do well in middle school. It's a building/atmosphere made for her. Rock on, brainiac sister!

High School!

Yep, this is what the bestest, gosh, darn freshman around looks like! Gotta love him, with his new "Chucks" (that's his Converse High Top Sneakers for those of you not in the know), plaid shorts and Pink Floyd t-shirt. Don't worry; he's getting a hair cut on Saturday, but we let him go all shaggy this week! Compromise, compromise, compromise. He had a great first day of school. He didn't get lost, had someone he knew in each of his classes, and found his locker after only 3 tries! We'll see how tomorrow goes when everyone is there! We just love this kid!

Back to work for me!

I went back to work yesterday and started a new job in the big ol' scary middle school. So far so good, but the kids haven't arrived yet. Today the sheriff came to give a talk on gangs, which are alive and well in our community! Who knew? Well the middle school teachers did. I can see I've got a lot to learn! I did manage to steal a "good" chair from one of the teachers in my "pod". I really thought I had one up on him until he told me he got to order an even better chair. So NOW I'm gonna have to steal that chair when it comes! And I'm going to have to go over to the college where I graduated and pick up a bunch of "Go Bears" stuff cuz there is far too much of other peoples' college stuff around the building. College rivalry is all the rage in this new building.

The prince starts high school tomorrow. Truth be told, I think we're all a little nervous for him. But he'll be fine (we keep telling ourselves). We're going out to dinner tomorrow night so he can tell us all about it. Stay tuned...

Whoot Whoot!

I LOVE this girl, and not just because yesterday she was named to an advanced competition dance team! We're so proud of her. Where, you might ask, does she get such talent? All I can say is, "NOT FROM ME!" You go girl!

Got Milk?

What kind of mom runs out of milk?

In 14+ years of doing this mom-gig, I have NEVER run out of milk!!! But we ran out yesterday. And that's not bad enough. Since finding out we were out of milk, I've been to a convenience store TWICE and not thought to pick up any!!!

Please nominate me for mother-of-the-year. I'll win; I just know it!

End of an Era

One of my missions this summer was to clean out the movie cabinet. We have one working VCR and lots of VHS tapes that the kids never watch anymore. I hate to just throw away Disney. It doesn't seem right! So the princess organized the videos and then she and her brother hauled them upstairs. We invited two friends with kids the right age to take these great movies off our hands, and they divided them up! Phew! We were a little sad to see them go, but now we have more room for all the wii gadgets. And never fear, we did save the very best movies...Lion King, Shrek, Toy Story...to enjoy occasionally...at least until the VCR dies.

Keys

I'm a bit worried. I'm starting a new job next Monday in the Middle School. I went to pick up keys to my new building and found I was issued 4 keys. Apparently they lock up a lot of stuff in Middle School. Either that or they lock the kids up a lot! There's a front door key, a room key, a key to the closet, and a master key for all the lockers! Yikes!

I'm used to working in a building where the only stuff kids are usually interested in stealing is your candy stash!

Another Sign of Fall

My sister just reminded me of another sign of fall:

I'm not on the computer as much!

It's true; I'm back at work this week.

Signs of Fall

Say it ain't so, but it is. Here's the proof:

1. I have to go back to work tomorrow.

2. The princess has all of her school supplies organized, labeled, and ready to go.

3, The prince goes back next Wednesday.

4. The princess goes back next Thursday.

5. Mums are starting to bloom in my neighborhood.

6. Saddest of all, some tree leaves are starting to turn yellow.

Who Wants "Smore"?

I believe the pictures say it all!

Yum, yum, yum!

Fair Dancing

The princess got to dance at the fair this week. It's hard to get into those slinky little dance costumes when it's 90*+, and you're sweating like a pig. But she managed to pull it off and dance divinely! Dance season gears up next week with a week of rehearsals before competition team try-outs. It's a good thing too, because she's about grown out of these costumes!